


Exchange Student

by FlightlessOwl (orphan_account)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animal Death, BillDip, Cutting, Demonic Possession, F/F, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Highschool AU, M/M, Mild Language, Multi, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-20 21:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4803614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/FlightlessOwl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>BillDip Highschool AU</p><p>When ordinary fifteen-year-old Californian Dipper Pines meets the new exchange student from Oregon, Bill Cipher, they form an intimate friendship that could eventually turn into something more.</p><p>This is a boy x boy (with a bit of girl x girl) story. Don't like, don't read. Also rated T due to later events in the story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Exchange Student (Dipper)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: To all you Grammar Nazis, I'm sorry if this has some grammatical errors because I haven't checked. So sorry once again and let's continue with the story. Enjoy!

I boredly doodled in my notebook as the Homeroom teacher chattered away about some exchange student from Gravity Falls, Oregon. I heard my two Grunkles (me and my sister's portmanteau of 'grand-uncle') Stanley and Stanford lived there, just a sleepy little town in the Pacific Northwest from the way most described it, but my two Grunkles said otherwise. Their letters and postcards described amazing and fantastical adventures about multi-headed bears, zombies, and gremoblins. My parents insisted they were old and lonely so they made up these fantasies to entertain themselves which miffed my twin sister Mabel a bit, well actually a lot, since she became ecstatic when our Grunkles said to have found a unicorn deep within the forest but I didn't believe them. People refused to see things they don't categorize as 'normal' and came up with 'logical explanations' to make it seem normal. Why? Because they are afraid; they fear the unknown beings amongst us. As H.P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is fear of the unknown."

I was so buried deep in my thoughts, I hardly noticed the exchange student walk into the classroom. He was rather tall and lanky, maybe around six feet or so. He had a long yet rounded face with golden strands of hair covering the left side, making his right eye the only eye visible. It was dark like ebony or obsidian and rather beautiful, looking nervously at the thirty or so pairs of eyes staring right back at him. Dipper blinked a bit, mentally slapping himself. Why was he calling a person, a fricking boy, he only saw for a couple seconds beautiful?

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class, sweetie?" Ms. Wentworth encouraged the timid teen, giving him a warm maternal smile.

The guy let out a shaky sigh. "My name is Bill Cipher, but you can call me Bill. I was born and grew up in a small town in Oregon called Gravity Falls." There were some snickers from the class.

"Alrightie then, Bill." Ms. Wentworth said. "Go on and sit next to Dipper." 

She pointed her old bony finger at the seat next to mine. The boy, Bill Cipher, looked at the seat then at me, making eye contact. I quickly looked away and went on doodling in my notebook.

"That's a really good drawing." I jumped a bit then turned my head to the left and saw Bill peering over to see my drawing. "That looks sort of like the rumoured lake monster in Gravity Falls."

"Yeah, my grand-uncles told me about the lake monster." I explained. "They live there and tell me about the supernatural things going on there."

Bill looked surprised, his eye as wide as a dinner plate. "And you actually believe them?"

I huffed indignantly. "Yes, I do. Go ahead and call me insane or delusional—"

"No, no!" Bill cried shaking his head. "I don't think you're crazy. I just never thought I'd find someone who believed in the supernatural like me. Whenever I told someone about it, people thought I was making it up or I was some immature kid living in his own fantasies. Now I've found someone I can actually talk to who can't get bored over what I have to say!"

"Mr. Cipher, Mr. Pines!" Ms. Wentworth called. "Do you have something to share with the class?"

Our faces heated up and we said in unison, "No, Ma'am."

"Well then." Ms. Wentworth eyed the two of us suspiciously. "If we can continue without anymore interruptions..."

For the rest of the period, Bill grinned at me and I would grin right back. We had been two lost souls roaming alone in this vast world, now kindred spirits brought together and united.


	2. New Member (Bill)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill is introduced to Dipper's sister, Mabel Pines, and her friends and becomes an official part of their group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yay! Two updates in one day! I have really outdone myself, indeed I did. Anyway, basically introduction to Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica in this one. So yeah enjoy!

"So your name's Dipper?" I asked before slurping my milk. "That's not a common name, why did your parents name you Dipper?"

"Dipper's my nickname." Dipper clarified, munching on his salad. "It's because of the birthmark on my forehead. It's shaped like the Big Dipper."

"Woah!" I gasped. "So you're like Harry Potter but with a Big Dipper constellation instead of a lightning bolt on your forehead!"

Dipper grinned rather sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Can I see?" I asked eagerly, reaching out a hand to brush the chocolate brown bangs off his forehead.

He swatted my hand away. "N-no! It's embarrassing!"

"Please?" I begged, pouting and giving him a puppy-eyed look.

Before he could give in, four girls sat in the remaining chairs next to us. The nearest to Dipper shouted, "Hey bro bro!"

Bro bro? Was this girl Dipper's brother? It certainly looked like it with the same chocolate brown tresses, big expressive brown eyes, and that beautiful smile. However Dipper's smile was less frequent, a rare ocassions did he give that bright smile.

"Hey Mabel." Dipper greeted. 

So her name was Mabel Pines then? I looked at the other three girls which I assumed were Mabel's gaggle of girl friends. One was rather large and buff, her hair tied into a ponytail, and spoke with a rather gruff voice for a girl. Another one was small and had chinky eyes like an Asian but had large glasses. The last one looked like one of those girls from 'Mean Girls'; the fair-skin, bleach-blonde locks, designer clothes, and make-up yelled 'RICH BITCH COMING THROUGH!'

So who's you're new friend, broseph?" I snapped out of my trance and found Mabel staring right at me.

"Oh right!" Dipper exclaimed. "So Mabel, Bill. Bill, Mabel."

I gave her a lopsided grin, holding a hand up. "Hi."

"Hi Bill!" Mabel responded back cheerfully. "So you're new here?"

"Mm-hmm." My head bobbed up and down as I nodded.

"Don't worry." Mabel reassured. "Candy is also an exchange student but she's from South Korea."

The Asian girl, Candy, smiled and nodded. "I'm Candy Chiu, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I returned politely.

"And I'm Grenda!" The large girl boomed. "Wanna have my number cutie?

"No thank you." I rejected the offer as politely as I could. "And are you alright? You sound a bit sick."

Grenda waved a large hand. "Nah, my voice is really like this. It was a lot deeper back when I was twelve, sounded like I had a really bad sore throat all the time."

Mabel gestured towards the bleach-blonde."Oh, and here's our new member of our group, Pacifica!"

Mabel began cuddling Pacifica like she was some huge stuffed animal. "Huggie, huggie!"

"Mabel, what—?" Pacifica was cut off by Mabel pressing her index finger to her lips.

"Shhhhh." Mabel shushed.

"But there are people—"

"Just enjoy the moment."

Pacifica sighed exasperatedly. "This is stupid."

"Awww, Grumpy Cat's in a bad mood today." Mabel teased.

Dipper poked me in the arm, snapping me from my trance. "Hey Bill."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You okay with them sitting here?" Dipper asked. "If you don't feel comfortable around them, it's okay. We can sit somewhere else if you want."

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach a bit. He had said we; not you, but we. Dipper was making sure I was comfortable and he wanted to sit next to me of all people in this world. Why was he being so kind and considerate and why did he have to be so fucking gorgeous as well?

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I like them." It was the truth, they seemed like nice people and if they were a friend of Dipper, I think they could be trustworthy enough.

Dipper sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I thought you would be uncomfortable sitting with us weirdos."

I chuckled a bit. "Don't worry, I'm a weirdo too."

I felt a hand slap onto my cheek and something stick onto it. I peeled it off. It was a sticker of a dinosaur with the words 'RAWR-SOME!'

"To the new and official members!" Mabel cried, slapping a sticker of a cat with the words 'MEOW WOW!' on Pacifica's forehead with a resounding 'SMACK!'

I smiled because for the first time in probably forever, I actually felt at ease with real people. I had found where I belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Bill, my baby! You're not an outcast anymore! Gimme a hug! To all the readers, here! Have some Oreos! Yay! Anyways, see you in the next chappie! Bye!


	3. Shippings and Auto-correct (Dipper)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill and Dipper have a little chit-chat on their cellphones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi! So for the texts: Bold=Bill, Italic=Dipper. Anyway, onwards!

Before we went home I gave Bill my cellphone number in exchange for his. Mabel was quite surprised since I rarely gave out my number to a person I just met. I insisted that it was just so we could discuss the mysteries of the unusual town of Gravity Falls, and indeed it was. Bill and I were acquaintances, friends maybe, discussing similiar topics we both found interesting, nothing more...right?

I bit on my pen that I was chewing on (it was a habit I had when I was thinking) a bit to hard and the blue ink squirted into my mouth. I gagged, trying to spit out the ink and rushed to the bathroom and washed my mouth from the nasty taste. Once I returned to my room, I looked at my phone and saw a notification from two minutes ago, the text read: **Hey! It's me Bill! You busy?** **  
**

I texted back: _No, I just bit my pen and I had to wash my mouth. It was a mess!_

When I sent it, autocorrect turned _pen_ into _penis_ , so it read: _No, I just bit my penis and I had to wash my mouth. It was a mess!_

**You bit your penis? Da faq?!**

I facepalmed my forehead, my cheeks burning tomato red.

_Penis!_

_NO! PENIS!_

_P E N! I bit my P E N!_

**Autocorrect has recognized 'penis' as a frequently used word**

_I NEVER SAID 'PENIS' IN TEXTS SINCE TODAY!_

**Jeez, calm your man boobs, I was just kidding!**

_Man boobs?_

**What did you want me to say? Nipples? Plus you don't exactly have tits**

_Let's just forget this okay?_

**Okay**

_Hold on I'll just get some pickled trout_

**???**

_Prostate trampolines_

_Parsley tarts_

_Poppy trinkets_

_I'M GOING TO GET FUCKING PREGNANT!_

**Am I the dad? ;D**

_POP TARTS! I GOT POP TARTS! I'M NOT PREGNANT JESUS CHRIST!_

**Awww, no kids? :(**

_WE'RE BOTH GUYS! WE CAN'T BARE CHILDREN!_

**ITS TIME TO TRY DEFYING GRAVITY!**

**Well science in this case.**

_Anyway, what's Gravity Falls like?_

**DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!**

_Bill, come on, this was the whole point of this chat! To talk about the supernatural stockings going on there!_

_Stuff! Not stockings!_

**SUPERNATURAL STOCKINGS LOL**

**Although I do have Supernatural merch**

_You watch Supernatural?_

**Yep really great show! Must watch!**

_I've watched the first two seasons and so far it's pretty good_

**Hurry up there are about ten seasons**

_I know relax and I keep hearing from other Supernatural fans about something called Destiny?_

_I mean Destiel not Destiny sorry_

**Oh, it's the shipping of Dean and Castiel**

_Who's Castle?_

_Castiel dammit_

**He's in Season 4 so hurry your ass up and watch!**

_And what's a shipping?_

**Seriously bro? It's like wanting to see two people in a relationSHIP. Say you and me for an example. If people found us to look like a cute couple they would be shipping us.**

_Oh._

**Anyway, how's your penis?**

_I SAID DROP IT_

**But you're pregnant with my baby just making sure momma's alright ;)**

_You're as annoying as herpes!_

_HELL NOT HERPES! GOD!_

"Hey! Dippingsauce!" Mabel called. "Dinner time! And why is your face red?"

"Stupid autocorrect." I muttered before heading downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Breaking News: Dipper Pines, 15 year old male, pregnant with child of dorito dream demon, Bill Cipher!
> 
> Lol jkjk anyway see you in the next chappie! Bye!


	4. Freak (Bill)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After PE class, a bunch of bullies confront Bill with his missing clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yay! Next chappie! Onwards, Aoshima!

After a nice cold shower, I stepped out of the stall, heading towards my locker. Today's PE class had been more enjoyable than most, sending lopsided grins, winks, and showing off my not-so-bulky muscles to Dipper and seeing his adorable face turn red was enjoyable. I twisted the numbers to the correct code and it unlocked with a small click. I opened the locker door to see the emptiness inside. My comfortable jeans, baggy shirt, and favorite sweater were gone. Then I noticed the inner part of the locker door had words written in black permanent marker, it read stuff like: "FAGGOT" and "GAY" but majority of it was "FREAK".

"Looking for something, freak?" Came a taunting voice from behind me.

I turned to see three huge looming figures, I recognized who the three were immediately. They were the school's most popular kids, the jocks. Morgan Redmond (left), Anderson Campbell (right), and Crampelter Breckenridge (middle). They were the school's notorious bullies. I think the only reason that the principal hadn't kicked them out was because not only were they popular, they were rich, their parents were billionaires of large and famous companies. The principal was probably worried that their parents would do something to the school, threatening to bulldoze the school and replace it with a condominium or something like that.

"Looking for your clothes?" Crampelter asked, waving around my Superman brief.

"H-hey!" I tried sounding fierce but seeing the smirks on their faces, I was miserably failing. "G-give those back! O-or else!"

"Or else what?" Crampelter taunted. "You gonna sit on our faces with your ugly ass?"

His two cronies, Morgan and Anderson, snickered stupidly behind him. Crampelter began passing around my underwear, taunting me over what a lame-o I was for liking Superman.

"Maybe he's got a gay crush on him?" Morgan suggested. "Can't have the real Superman touching him, why not have underwear with his face touching him? Better than nothing right?"

Crampelter and Anderson bursted into howls of laughter, high-fiving Morgan. I felt my ears and face heat up and turn a bright cherry red from both embarrassment and anger.

"Oh my!" Anderson said with mock surprise. "But wouldn't that be cheating on his other gay crush?"

I raised my eyebrow in confusion. What the hell were they talking about? Who the hell was this oh-so-called 'gay crush' that I had aside from Superman, who I did NOT have a crush on.

"Oh yeah!" Crampelter exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering something important. "Morgan, get it recording! Oh man, this is gonna be so good!"

Morgan pulled out a camcorder and began recording, focusing on me, completely vulnerable and naked except for a white fluffy towel covering my posterior and Little Bill.

"Alright, freak." Crampelter sounded almost business-like. "We'll give you your horrid clothes back if you do as we say. Drop the towel, look at the camcorder, and then touch yourself, screaming that you want Dipper Pines to suck you off."

"Isn't there another option?" I asked.

Crampelter grinned. "So glad you asked. A couple of nude pictures, let's say...four? I think that's enough for your clothes back."

I shook my head. "No way! Give my clothes back Crampelter!" I tried grabbing my Superman underwear but Crampelter raised it higher, laughing cruelly.

"Well then." Crampelter said with that same unusual business-loke tone. "There's our final option, you have to run to the cafeteria completely naked, find Dipper Pines, kiss him on the lips, and shout to the whole school that you are gay for Dipper Pines."

"And Superman." Anderson added jokingly.

I shook my head. "You guys are disgusting."

Crampelter's face turned stony cold. "Well then. If you ain't doing any of the three, an entire day in your cold metal locker may change your mind. Stuff him in boys!"

Morgan and Anderson grabbed my arms and stuffed me into my locker. I banged as hard as I could on the metal doors. "Get me out of here! Crampelter you are going to regret this!"

"Sorry, can you hear something boys?" Crampelter began playing deaf.

"Fuck you!" I spat.

"My, my!" Crampelter mocked surprise. "What a dirty mouth we have here! Maybe it's from sucking so many balls. Anyway enjoy it in there, freak!"

"I will!" I shouted after Crampelter and his cronies's retreating backs. I certainly did not enjoy it in there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Dundundun! Cliffhanger! Will Dipper find Bill and be his knight in shining armor and save him? Find out in the next chapter! Bye!


	5. Batman Boxers and "Friendly" Dates (Dipper)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper saves Bill from getting suffocated in his locker and lends him spare clothes when his get stuffed down a toilet. To repay the favor, Bill asks out Dipper on a "friendly" date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Bill baby don't worry! In this chapter, Dipdop's gonna save you! To all the readers out there, enjoy the BillDip!

Dipper stared at the empty seat to his left. Bill was nowhere to be seen, the last place he remembered seeing him was during PE class. His head instantly shot up then wilted back down when he saw it was only crap-face Crampelter and his goons following closely behind. Then a sudden thought came to Dipper; what if Crampelter had done something to Bill?

"—ate cheese curls without using my hands!" Mabel said enthusiatically, then she noticed my worried expression and frowned. "Dipdop? What's wrong?"

"I need to go back to the PE area." I stood up. "I think I left something there."

"Want me to come with?" Mabel asked as Pacifica wiped off the cheese powder from her face with a napkin. "Paz, I'm not a baby! Gimme that!"

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm fine. Go finish your lunch, I'll be real quick."

I ran as fast as I could to the changing rooms. "Bill? Where are you?"

A rattling came from one of the changing room lockers. "Dipper! Is that you? Help me! Crampelter and his minions stuffed me in here!"

I rushed to the locker as quickly as possibly, Bill could be suffocating in the locker. "What's the code?"

"0-6-1-8!" Bill's muffled voice replied.

I quickly twisted the numbers in the lock and the lock popped open with a  _click_. I opened the door and Bill came tumbling out and landed face first on the floor wheezing, "Air, air! Sweet precious air!"

My face turned red as I saw that Bill was nude except for a towel which was covering his lower extremities. "Where are your, uh, clothes?" I asked, my face still rather red.

Bill's eyes snapped open in realizition and stood up almost immediately. "Holy shit! Crampelter, where the  _fuck_  did you put my sweater?"

We searched around the changing room, the showering stalls, but we found his precious sweater in the damp recesses of...

"A  _toilet_?" Bill cried. "They stuffed my clothes down a  _toilet_?"

We pulled out the clothes which were completely soaked in toilet water. "Goddamn it," Bill muttered. "Goddamn you, Crampelter!"

I held a dripping wet Superman brief with my index and middle finger. "Is this yours?"

Bill snatched the Superman underwear away, his cheeks and tips of his ears a bright scarlet. "Yes! I like DC! Marvel's good, but you can't go wrong with the classic DC!"

"You like Batman?" I asked.

"Forget about Spiderman, Superman, and Batman!" Bill said. "I'll be your man!"

I turned away so he could't see my red face. "Seriously, do you like Batman or not?"

"I'm Batman." Bill said in a husky voice, which was a pretty accurate Bruce Wayne impression and kind of... _sexy_.

I chuckled a bit. "Hold on, I have some extra clothes. Wrap this around you for now." I unzipped my jacket and wrapped it around him as he muttered "Thanks."

I pulled out a Batman t-shirt, Batman boxers, cargo shorts, and flip-flops and handed them to Bill. "Here, wear these."

"Thanks." Bill gladly accepted the clothes. "Um, could you, uh, turn around?"

"O-oh, sure." I stuttered and whirled around to face the opposite wall. "Yeah."

  
_Don't look behind! Don't look behind!_ I thought as I heard the rustling of clothes.  _Don't look behind! DON'T FUCKING LOOK!_  


"Alright," Bill called. "You can look now."

I turned and to my relief Bill was fully clothed and grinning. "How do I look?"

"Y-you look good." I answered with absolute honesty. He really looked good in my clothes. My face suddenly burned scarlet when I remembered he was wearing my clothes.

"Where do I put these though?" Bill held up his bundle of wet clothes.

I grabbed several plastic Ziploc bags from my locker. "Uh, h-here. Use these."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute. Why do you have extra clothes and Ziploc bags? I won't take 'coincidence' for an answer."

"Crampelter stuffed me in my locker while I was nude too." I answered. "The school janitor, Soos, saved me. I have extra clothes and Ziplocs prepared on PE day just in case another incident like this happens."

"Oh." Bill said as he took the Ziplocs. "Thanks."

"No problem." I smiled and helped him pack his clothes in the Ziploc bags.

"I owe you one." Bill said looking absolutely grateful.

You don't need to." I turned down.

"Yes I do!" Bill insisted. "Can I—Could I—Would you?"

"What?" I asked.

"Will you go out with me?" Bill blurted. "Not  _go out_ go out, I mean, a casual friend hang out! Just chillin'!" He laughed kind of nervously after his ramble.

"Sure!" I nodded. "I'm, uh, free around Saturday."

"Alright." Bill confirmed. "You know that new coffee shop that just opened up a week ago? Meet me there on Saturday around 3 o' clock."

 

"It's a date!" Mabel squealed once I told her.

"No, it's not!" I insisted.

"It is!" Mabel protested.

"It's not!"

"It is!"

I sighed. "Even if I like Bill  _that way_ , which I'm not say I do, it's more likely we stay as friends rather than us ending up as a couple. Say I try to confess to him; if I chicken out, he might not ask me how I feel about him and we stay friends; if I ask him and he feels the same way, we might end up in a relationship, if he doesn't feel the same way, I could make the friendship awkward and he might even be a homophobe! I don't want to lose Bill, he's the first guy my age who actually understands me."

Mabel touched my arm gently. "Dipper, you're the bravest guy I've ever known, I have faith that you won't chicken out. Plus, if Bill was a real friend, he wouldn't care about you being totally gay for him; he would accept it and stay friends with you. Plus if he is a homophobic asshole, he isn't worth this super awesome and super smart brother of mine. I'll kick his ass if he makes you cry."

I gave my twin sister a lopsided grin. "Thanks Mabes."

Mabel grinned. "I'm calling the girls and we'll watch over your date. If Bill is a homophobe, we will grind him to dust!"

"That's not necess—" I tried to say but Mabel cut me off.

"I will not let anyone hurt my little brother." Mabel said fiercely. "You comforted me everytime a stupid guy crushed my heart so it's time to return the favor."

I watched worriedly in the distance as Mabel dialed one of her girl friend's cellphone numbers to inform them about their plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, first date coming right up in next chappie! Mabel pleasedon'tkickBill'sassbecausehe'sasweetheartandtotallynothomophobicbecausehe'stotallygayforDipper! *pants very loudy* anyway I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye bye! *waves and hands out Oreos*


	6. The Beast Inside (Bill)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill has a demon inhabiting his body that can only be tamed by quenching its thirst for blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I have sore eyes and my parents refuse to let me near the computer or my ipad. This isn't the date just yet, it's a filler chapter before the date. Also if you feel uncomfortable about animal death and cutting, don't read.

Blood.

Blood ran down my fingers down to my forearms, several stains of dried blood littered my sweater, and sweat trickled down my face. A knife was in my hand stained with blood, the blade was a strong steel and so sharp you wouldn't notice you'd been cut, not immediately at least. 

The kitten lay dead on the table, blood pooling around it. I made a careful incision and gently pulled out the kitten's unbeating heart, it came out with a loud disgusting squelching noise. He carefully dropped in a pickled jar labeled 'CAT HEART' and placed it next to a bunch of other jars labeled with things like 'GOOSE LIVER' and 'SQUIRREL EYES'

' _More_ ,' the demon inside pleaded, ' _More sweet delicious blood._ '

I walked over to the tank with five frogs hopping about, I dropped several cotton balls doused in chloroform and waited. After a minute or so until one of the frogs lost conciousness, I pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and  pulled the sleeping frog out. Gently placing it on a newspapers spread out, I pinned the down with a bunch of thumbtacks just in case the frog woke up.

Just as I was about to make the incision, a knocking came on the door. The demon told me to ignore it and continue the operation but I went against it's will and opened the door. Tad Strange was there in his long sleeve shirt, blue vest, and slacks. He was my third or fourth cousin once removed who accepted me into his house after my parents kicked me out after finding out about my...condition.

Tad was carrying a Wolverine t-shirt, dark blue jeans, grey and black striped socks, and Air Jordans in his arms and was about to shove them into mine but stopped himself when he saw they were bloodied. "Were you feeding  _It_  again?"

I nodded.  _It_  grew more and more powerful as the weeks past by, the bloodlust growing hungrier and hungrier. More hearts, lungs, and eyes being offered to  _It_. More pleasure in cutting off the skin—

"Dorito burrito taquito!" Tad shouted bringing me back from my morbid imagination.

"Sorry," I apologized, "Did I do the thing again?" 

When I thought sick twisted homicidal thoughts, people said my irises glowed a bright gold and my pupils turned to slits. A son of the Devil, they called me, or a demon hiding in a human. The only word that snapped me back to my sane conciousness was 'Dorito'. I know, weird, but what would you expect from a mental unstability causing demon?

Tad nodded. "Get those frog lungs or eyes or whatever and change quickly, I'll bring you to your date."

I blushed. "For the last time, it's  _not_  a date! I like Dipper the way I like a friend or brother. I just want to talk to him, ask him about his day, listen to him talk, but I'm surely not in love with Dipper Pines."

Tad scoffed. "Well, you are exactly describing a romantic relationship, and a pretty mawkish one."

Bill groaned in exasperation. "Just leave my clothes on the bed."

"Fine." Tad walked past me and carefully stacked the freshly washed and neatly folded clothes on my bed. "Just call me when you're ready!"

As he walked out, I stabbed the frog's head and cut it completely in half with a single stroke. I peeled off the skin with my knife and stuffed the lungs in a pickled jar and labelled it 'FROG LUNGS'. He disposed of the dead animal corpses before he loomed over his newspaper-covered desk.

I hadn't cut myself in months but now I was going to break that streak. Two thin cuts were made, blood blossoming from the wounds. I wasn't cutting myself because of Dipper but because I could never be worthy of Dipper; I wasn't even half as good as he was. Worst of all, if he would find out about me, he would see me as the monster I really was; a wolf in sheep's clothing. He would run away from me screaming, calling me an insane maniac, a monster. If I really was falling for him, I am going to land real hard on the ground on harsh reality face first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: BILL NO YOU ARE AN AMAZING AND ADORABILL and thank you to the people who commented and told me that this fanfic was good, it makes me feel better each time I read your comments. To those who read and don't comment but think this is good, it's okay. I'm shy irl also. Anyway see you in the next chappie! Bye!


	7. It's A Date Then (Dipper)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> COFFEE SHOP DATE! YAY!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: HI! Sorry for the long absence, I just been so busy lately, anyway here's the date!

 

My fingers drummed on the table as I watched the dark liquid swirl around in the coffee cup. I looked at my watch for the fifth time. 3:15 pm. I had arrived at the coffee shop about five minutes before three, hoping Bill would be waiting there, surprised that I arrived early but he wasn't anywhere in the coffee shop. Mabel and her friends had a table to themselves, yes Mabel was serious about the whole 'spying on my date'. Heck, she even coached me on what to do.

"Remember, eye contact, conversation—" I cut Mabel off before she began her love coach talk.

"Mabel," I placed my hands on her shoulders. "It's just Bill and I hanging out. No biggie."

Mabel sighed. "Fine, just be yourself and good luck!" That was all she said before she walked off back to the table with her friends.

I heard the tinkling of door chimes and I looked up to see Bill with a tall lanky guy, probably college, with dark icy blue eyes and well-combed black hair. He wore a white long sleeved shirt underneath a blue vest, slacks, and shiny black shoes. Who was he? One of Bill's friends? Suddenly that word had an entirely different meaning in my head leaving my stomach a bit queasy.

My eyes tore off of the guy when I saw Bill flashing his endearing smile at me. "Hey Dip!"

I smiled back. "Hey Bill!"

He saw me looking at Mr. Black-Hair-Blue-Eyes and said, "Oh, Dipper Pines, this is Tad Strange. Tad Strange, Dipper Pines."

The guy, Tad, gave a polite smile and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dipper."

I clasped his hand with mine and shook it. "Nice to meet you too." I still didn't quite trust the guy, his hands were clammy and sweaty (or it could just be my hands, my body had never seemed to get over my sweating problem), his smile too wide and kinda creepy...

"I've heard an awful lot about you from Bill here—" Tad was interrupted by a loud cough from Bill.

"Uh, Tad?" Bill asked. "Shouldn't you be taking care of Screamer?"

"Oh, right!" Tad straightened up a bit. "Well, I should be going. Behave yourself, Bill."

"I'm not a kid!" Bill shouted after Tad's retreating back, looking angry and embarrassed.

"Who's Screamer?" I inquired Bill.

"He's our pet." Bill said offhandedly digging through his pocket for his wallet. "A screaming bodyless head."

I nearly choked on my coffee. "Pardon?"

Bill snorted. "Just kidding Pine Tree! I can't believe you actually fell for that! He's a chocolate brown Lab actually."

I blinked. "Oh okay. Wait...Pine Tree?"

He pointed at my cap which had a pine tree on it. "Pine Tree. And it's funny y'know since your last name is Pines. Oh, and I'll just get a coffee, okay?"

"Okay." I watched him as he headed over to the cashier.

"Psst!" I jumped as Mabel whispered loudly in my ear. She had somehow sneaked over to my table without me or Bill noticing.

"What?"

"Who was that guy awhile ago?" Mabel inquired.

"Bill said his name was Tad," I answered. "Tad Strange."

"That name's a  _tad strange_ , eh?" Mabel nudged me playfully as I rolled my eyes. "Come to think of it Bill's name is kinda weird too. How many people have Cipher as their last name?"

I felt kind of stupid not noticing that before. "That's true. Strange is also an... _unusual_  last name."

Mabel grinned. "Ha! Puns!"

I then saw Bill thank the barrista as she handed him his coffee cup. "Mabel! Back to your table, now!"

She gave me a thumbs up and mouthed 'Good Luck!' before she scurried over to her table of giggly girl friends, probably discussing about Bill or Tad.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Bill apologized as he sipped his cup of coffee.

"No problem." I said. "So, Tad..."

"What about him?" Bill asked.

"Is he your friend or something?" I asked.

"Cousin." Bill answered. "Third or fourth, once removed."

This unusual feeling washed over me. Relief? Why was I relieved?

"He lives with you?"

"I live with him." Bill corrected. "My parents kicked me out because of...stuff."

I wanted to ask him what kind of 'stuff', but it was probably invading his privacy and I had to respect that. Plus, I didn't want to sound like a police officer interrogating a suspect. So instead I said, "I'm sorry..."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"You were kicked out by your parents." I said. "I thought you felt kind of...alone and abandoned."

"I'm just poor boy," Bill sang. "Don't need no sympathy." 

He was either trying to lighten up the mood or trying to avoid the topic, I'll just let it slip for now. I grinned and sang along. "Because I'm easy come, easy go."

"Little high," Bill's voice was angelic, I couldn't help marveling his tenor voice.

"Little low." I continued.

"Anywhere the wind blows," Bill and I were singing in harmony, "Doesn't really matter to me."

"To me." Bill had a pretty good alto voice as well.

We looked at each other, unsure what part was next, so we bursted out into a fit of giggles. Bill's laugh was light and airy, like ringing bells. I could help but smile even wider. As soon as the laughter died down, Bill looked at me and asked, "So, Mabel and her friends..." Bill gestured towards their table.

Of course he noticed them, Mabel's colorful sweaters, Pacifica's fancy designer clothes, Candy's huge glasses, and Grenda's gigantic build were definitely hard to miss. 

I said, "They wanted to, uh, tag along?"

Bill chuckled a bit. "Why are they in a seperate table? I would have thought they would want to squeeze in if they really were tagging along?"

My face burned a bright red. "T-they, uh, think we're on a d-d-date."

Silence. The long pause was pregnant with tension.

"What if it is?" Bill muttered quietly.

"Is it?"

"If you want it to be, then yes."

"Um, o-okay."

"What?" Bill asked looking surprised.

"It's a date then." I whispered bashfully.

Bill grinned. "It is?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"So-uh, I was wondering...do you...would you...?" Bill looked kind of nervous; more nervous than I had ever seen him.

A ringtone interrupted him, loud electric guitars playing heavy metal rock. Bill reached into his pocket and answered, looking rather miffed on being interrupted. "Hey, Tad. What's going on I was—what did Screamer do this time? He bit you _again_? Why? Why didn't you look where you were stepping? I told you he has a sensitive tail and quick reflexes! Alright, I'll be there. Bye."

"Your dog bit Tad?" I guessed.

Bill looked kinda pissed and somewhat...relieved? "Yeah, I need to go and help him before he bleeds himself to death. Anyway, bye."

He stood up and gave me a short and awkward bro hug before he ran out the door, turning back and giving me a small wave and smile. The hug he had given me, despite being short, had given me this warm tingly feeling and caused an explosion of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

"DIPPER!" I was brought back to Earth when Mabel yelled out my name and waved her hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Earth to Dipper Pines!"

I said something really intelligent like, "Uhhhhh?"

"Why did your Prince Charming walk out?" Mabel asked. "Isn't it Cinderella who walks out at the untimely moment?"

"Emergency." Was the only explaination I gave to her. 

Mabel pestered me about giving the details about the date but I ignored them. "Did he flirt with you? Any cute banter? Come on bro bro, give me them  _deets_!"

Once I drove all of Mabel's friends home, I drove home, parked the car in the garage, and then ran upstairs in my bedroom. Flopping on the bed, I wrapped my arms around myself, that warm tingly feeling Bill gave me wasn't there. 

"Hey Dip!" Mabel called through the doorway of my room, then noticing what I was doing she gave me a strange look. "Why are you hugging yourself?" 

"No reason." I lied

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KISS KISS FALL IN LOVE! God I love Ouran so much. But seriously, these two cuties...


	8. Nighttime Phone Calls (Bill)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for the very, very long hiatus. I've been pretty busy. Sorry, no, this is not a Halloween special. However, I have drawn for Billdip Week, look for xxoreo-smoreoxx and bill-and-dip on tumblr! In fact, this fanfic has been mentioned by the blog billdip-national-library on tumblr. I was just 'wtfffff???' for five minutes straight. In fact, I'm still not over it. Anyway, I'm picking up where we left off, after their first date! Anyways, see you at the end of the chapter.

I applied rubbing alcohol to a ball of cotton and gently rubbed it on the bitemarks. "You know it's a good thing that we gave Screamer his rabies shot a week ago, otherwise..."

Tad winced a bit as the alcohol touched the wound. "Worst Case Scenario: I'd probably be dead. Gee, thanks for giving me my happy thought of the day! Really appreciate it!"

"Well your sarcasm is not appreciated." I snapped back.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Tad grumbled. "Why are you so worked up?"

"Nothing." I wrapped the bandage around his leg, covering up the wound.

"You upset that I interrupted your date?" Tad asked, massaging his leg.

Yes, I wanted to snap at him, Yes I am.

After a silence from me, Tad gave me this huge shit-eating grin. "So you do like...Dipper was his name right? Yeah, you like him! Am I right?

"I didn't say anything." I gently stroked an agitated Screamer, who was snarling a bit at Tad.

Tad began singing. "Sha la la la la la, my oh my! The boy he too shy! Ain't gonna kiss the guy!"

"Oh, shut your yap!" I grumped as I headed for the stairs.

"No chance, no way! He won't say he's in looooooovvvvvveeee!!!" Tad continued to taunt me with his horrible covers of Disney songs as I climbed up the stairs to my room.

Honestly, despite being angry at Tad for interrupting the date, I was partially grateful for the disruption as well. I had been planning on telling him about my condition and to see if he would think I was crazy or start running away screaming. Was I crazy to trust someone I only knew for a month with that big a secret?

I groaned loudly, grabbed my knife, and threw it at the dart board hanging on the wall. The knife hit dead center; a bullseye. I would have been stoked at that moment since I had the aim equivalent to that of a old blind panda bear and therefore could barely hit the board itself, much less the center, but I was so caught up in my mixed emotions I didn't give a chickenshit.

I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to wash over me, tugging gently as I sunk deeper and deeper into unconciousness.

 

I woke up to the sound of electric guitars coming from my cellphone. I grabbed it quickly, checking who the caller was. It was Dipper. I decided to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey." Dipper's voice came through the receiver, crackly and slightly muffled. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, I know it's late..."

"What time is it?" I asked, letting a loud yawn.

"8:30 pm." Dipper responded casually. "Why?"

"It's eight-thirty?" I asked incredously, suddenly noticing how dark it was outside. I then squinted hard at the clock on my wall, it was eight-thirty one. "I slept through dinner and Tad didn't even fucking bother to call me?"

Dipper snorted. "There was this one time during New Year when I was six, Mabel and I were so tired from staying up until 5 am that we slept for approximately fifteen hours and woke up at 7 pm."

"Could you hang up for a moment?" I asked him as my stomach growled impatiently, demanding food equivalent to an entire Christmas dinner. "I'll just get a light snack. Call me back in about five minutes."

"Alright." Dipper said before the phone beeped end tone.

I slipped on my bunny slippers (yes I have fluffy grey bunny slippers, they are amazing and comfortable for your information) and walked through the dark hallway, avoiding the creaky floorboards by memory. Making it to the stairs, I stepped on each stair gently in order not to emit any creaking. I jumped the last five steps and landed cat-like onto the living room floor.

I snuck my way into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cookies and cream flavored Pop Tarts, taking one ripping open the silver packaging to behold the humongous brown chocolate biscuit with rich vanilla cream and small Oreo crumbs spread on top of it and with even more vanilla cream stuffed inside.

You don't stare at it! His stomach snapped at him. You eat it, dumbass!

I instantly obliged and took a bite of the heavenly Pop Tart. I want to savory the chocolate-y creamy goodness but then hunger took over and I almost instantly wolfed it all down. I had torn off the packaging of my second Pop Tart when my cellphone, which I had placed in my breast pocket, began ringing.

Answering the cellphone, I asked, "Has it been five minutes yet?"

"Almost," Dipper said. "But I couldn't wait any longer."

I began heading up the stairs, trying not to make a sound. "Hey, Dip. Where are you?"

"My house." Dipper deadpanned.

"No, I meant where in your house." I clarified.

"Why?"

"I want to feel like I'm next to you."

After a short pause, he responded. "I'm lying down in bed."

I arrived at my bedroom and sat down on my bed. "Which side?"

"Left." Dipper answered.

"Me too," I said. "Hold on. I'm gonna scoot over to give you space."

With a half-eaten Pop Tart between my teeth, I scooted over to the right side of the bed and lay my head down on the pillow comfortably, staring at the empty area where Dipper would be, imagining looking at his brown eyes which were as warm as hot chocolate, his small sun-burned nose, and his shy adorable smile. "I'm looking at you."

"So am I." Dipper's voice a soft whisper.

"What else are you doing?"

"Eating Doritos."

"Can I have some?"

"No."

I laughed a bit. "Even if I traded a Pop Tart?"

"No." Dipper said firmly. "Doritos are my life. Doritos are my love. I will never let them go."

"You eat your life and love?" I asked, trying hard not to laugh.

"Yes," Dipper said matter-of-factly. "I eat the love of my life."

I whistled. "Damn, wish I was a Dorito."

Dipper snorted. "You're fine as a human. I like that way."

I felt my ears burn a bit. "Thanks."

There was a slight awkward tension in the air until my mouth suddenly decided to blurt out, "I want you to be beside me."

"I am beside you." Dipper reassured me.

"No, I mean I want you to really be here." I clarified. "I want to be next to you and hold your hand. I know I sound really clingy but...it's the truth"

"I feel the same, Bill." Dipper voice was low and quiet that I almost couldn't hear him. "I don't think I've felt so attached to anyone outside my family and my family friends."

"Dipper," I whispered. "What are you afraid of?"

"Puppets," Dipper confessed. "And dolls. They're creepy. I feel like they're always watching me. That was one of the reasons why I stopped sleeping with Mabel, she still keeps her Barbies on her shelves. Why are you asking?"

I finished off the Pop Tart and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of three things." Short pause. "I'm afraid of losing control, of something taking over my body and using me as a puppet. I'm afraid that when I lose control, I end up hurting people I love. I'm afraid of you leaving me because of that."

There was a long silence. I was afraid that Dipper was freaked out and somehow caught on with what my 'condition' was.

"Bill," Dipper whispered gently. "I—you are a guy I can actually talk to with thinking of me as a weirdo or a nerd. You understand who I am. You understand what it's like to be thought of as a freak. Running away from you when you need me the most would mean tossing you away and losing you forever...I don't want that to ever happen."

I couldn't hold them in anymore. I let the teardrops fall freely down my face. 

"Bill?" Dipper must have heard me sniffling. I wiped them away from my face.

"Yeah?"

"Is there something going on?" He asked. "Let me help you."

I sniffled. "You can't. I don't want to hurt you."

"Losing you would hurt me even more." Dipper insisted. "I don't care if you turn out to be a mentally unstable psychopath. If you're going crazy, I'm gonna lose my mind with you."

I let out a humorless laugh and shook my head even though I knew he couldn't see me. "You can't help me, even if you want to. You won't like to hear the cure."

"What is the cure?" Dipper inquired.

I sighed. There really was no turning back now. "The thing inside me gave me two choices. Kill animals for their blood and organs and offer them along with my soul to him on my sixteenth birthday or I do bloody murder and offer the soul of the person I killed instead of mine."

"You have this homicidal demon or whatever inhabiting your body?"

"Yeah."

"I'm guessing it's from Gravity Falls."

"Yeah. I sort of made a deal with him when I was six. I was stupid to believe him."

"Why?" Dipper asked. "What did he offer you? An infinite supply of candy?"

"He promise me the secrets of the Universe." I answered. "Although an infinite supply of candy would have been nice."

Dipper chuckled. "What did you want the secrets of the Universe for Bill?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to change the world with them. I was a kid, okay? I had an active imagination. Anyway, I believed him, I shook his hand and made a deal. He uses me as his puppet now."

"When's your birthday anyway?" Dipper asked.

"June 18." I replied. "A really long way to go."

Dipper groaned. "You have to kill innocent animals until June? That demon's just messed up."

I sighed. "That's why we need to stay from each other."

"What?!" Dipper exclaimed. "Why?!"

"The demon randomly takes over at times." I explained quickly. "If you get hurt—"

"Are you saying that I can't protect myself?" Dipper asked angrily.

"I'm not!" I tried keeping my temper, keeping the demon from taking over. "This demon is stronger than you think!"

"Just let me help you!" Dipper was now shouting.

"You can't!" I was choking back on tears now, trying to hold them back. Why was Dipper being so fucking difficult?

"Why?" Dipper yelled back. "Give me one good reason why!"

I couldn't take it any longer. Hot tears began streaming down my face as I shouted, "Because I love you, you idiot!" I let the words wash over me, realizing what I just said. "I—I have to go."

"Wait!" Dipper cried. "Bill, I—!"

I hung up on him. I wanted to smash my phone to bits, throw the remains in a lake, and burn it into flames. Instead, I threw it across the room and began crying on my pillow. Tad was right; I was completely, undeniably, and irrevocably in love with Dipper Pines. If love was the best feeling in the world, why did it hurt so much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am a terrible person. I know, I'm sorry. How could I do this to precious baby Bill who is canonically destroying the world. Seriously, the latest episode was fantastic and just so you know Wendy is my badass waifu so she's mine! Hissssss! Also there's a slim chance I might post the next chapter today, tomorrow or on November 2 (or Nov. 1 if you're in a different timezone). I will see you in the next chappie, buh-bye! (Shit, that was a really bad Markiplier impression. Erase that, erase that!)


	9. Pine Tree and Dorito (Dipper)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: WARNING! ATTEMPTED SUICIDE! IF YOU ARE A VERY SENSITIVE PERSON I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TURN AWAY AND NOT READ THIS CHAPTER. THANK YOU. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO READ SUCH CONTENT, PROCEED WITH CAUTION. THE FEELS ARE AFOOT.

I had been trying to talk to Bill a week now but he had staying at home for last couple of days, claiming he had a really bad fever. Really bad fever my ass. I bet my entire Pokemon card collection he was moping about in his room. I left texts and voice mails to his phone, asking him if he was alright. I was wondering if I should just give up, accept the fact I lost my first real friend and love interest who actually liked me back. Unless that call from a few days back was some joke Bill had pulled just to play with him. If that was the case, that would have been the cruelest joke of all.

I groaned and left another voice mail to Bill's phone, being the hopeless sap I am. "Hey Bill. Um, I well—uh—dammit. You know what? Fuck it all! I don't give a goddamn shit of you don't respond to my voice mails and texts or if you're not. I'm gonna keep going at this even when you're fucking dead because you're my best friend and I care about you. Now stop moping about, get out of your fucking house and come back to school! It's miserable without you!" 

I began to break down. I choked back a sob as I threw the phone across my room and buried my head into my pillow and gave out a frustrated shouted which got muffled by the pillow. I needed help. I needed...Mabel! My head shot up at my sudden idea. Mabel was the best person to consult at times like this. Why hadn't I thought of it before?

I quickly scrambled out of bed, bolting out of my bedroom door and towards Mabel's. I pulled the door open. "Mabel! I—! Uh..."

My words stopped dead in its tracks as my eyes widened in shock at the sight before me. Mabel's face was flushed a bright red, looking rather out of breath was straddling an equally red and out of breath Pacifica, sitting on the bed and holding Mabel's waist to keep her balanced on her lap. They stared at me with an equal amount of surprise as I did.

"Um," My voice was an octave higher than normal. "Am I interrupting something important?"

A "yes!" (Mabel) and a "no!" (Pacifica) was shouted at me in unison. As they squabbled, a billion questions ran through my mind. Wasn't Mabel straight? Didn't Pacifica say she was asexual? Since when were they—?

No, Dipper, the rational part of my brain reasoned, You can't jump to conclusions. Ask them first.

"Dipper, I know what you're thinking." Pacifica said. "And it is not that at all. We just got a little carried away. More specifically her."

"Oh gee," said Mabel, clutching her heart in mock hurt. "Thanks for putting the blame on me, Specifica."

"Oh shut up, you dork!" Pacifica pushed Mabel off playfully and looking like she was resisting the urge to grin.

I coughed nervously to remind them I was there. "I really hate to interrupt a blossoming romance, but I really need to talk to you Mabel." I noticed Pacifica rising up from the bed and added, "You can stay too, if you like."

"What's the sitch?" Mabel asked.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. I explained what happened what had happened a couple days ago. They were both very good listeners and gave small encouraging smiles everytime I began faltering. 

When I finshed Mabel gave me a hug. "It's okay, bro bro."

"Nah," I waved her apology off. "I'm fine. I just want to help him."

"How?" Pacifica asked. "It's not exactly like we know how to exorcise a demon or anything."

This seemed to have an electrifying effect on Mabel since she glanced up. "Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford."

"What?" Pacifica and I said in unison, absolutely confused.

"Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford!" Mabel repeated slowly as if she were explaining to a bunch of toddlers that one plus one is equal to two. "They own this Mystery Shack that displays tons of supernatural stuff, right? They must know how to deal with demons and all that."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That's true."

"Great!" Mabel exclaimed. "I'll call them and see if they're available!"

"Wait!" I cried. Mabel and Pacifica looked at me in surprise. "We need to get Bill's permission first," I explained. "He might not want to accept our help or something."

"Well then," Pacifica said. "Since calling and sending texts doesn' t work, it's off to Bill's house we go. What's his address?

 

After a couple minutes of driving, I parked the car near a simple two storey house. It had white walls and a blue roof. The whitewashed picket fence protected the lush green lawn. Walking up porch, I knocked on the door. No answer.

"Try ringing the doorbell." Mabel suggested behind me.

I rang the doorbell. I heard muffled footsteps getting louder and the clicking of locks. The door opened a tiny bit and through the crack was a single blue eye peeping out through it.

"Erm, h-hello." The voice said nervously. I recognized it to be Tad's. "I'm pretty s-sure Halloween is o-over. P-plus, you three seem t-too old to be t-trick or t-treating."

"Excuse me?!" Mabel shrieked so loud that several people passing by gave her weird stares. "I'm getting my driver's license next year and I still dress up for Halloween! Heck, I'd probably still trick or treat even when I'm seventy!"

"Mabes," Pacifica placed her hands gently on Mabel's shoulders. "I know you love Halloween but please try to calm—"

"I refuse to calm down!" Mabel shouted. "Not after he insults my—mmff!"

Pacifica slammed her lips onto Mabel's, probably to silence her, but I just stood there dumbfounded. Even Tad, who could have seen this distraction as an opportunity to slam the door in my face, was taken aback by their public display of affection.

Pacifica pulled away and looked at me. "Well? Go ahead and talk some sense into him about letting you in before she creates another ruckus." She pointed a thumb at Mabel who had this dreamy expression muttering gibberish.

After getting over the shock, I coughed loudly again to bring Tad's attention back to me. "I need to talk to Bill."

"W-what's in that b-box?" Tad asked, pointing at a small black box tucked under my armpit. I could tell he was obviously stalling because as I looked at it, he attempted to close the door but I stuck my foot out to block him.

"It's a gift for Bill," I saw Tad open his mouth but I interrupted. "Which I want to give to him personally. Will you let me in or not?"

Tad swallowed. He saw that I wasn't going to move away from this door anytime soon. He sighed. "Fine. G-get in. There's freshly b-baked batch of ch-chocolate chip c-cookies, if want some."

"Thanks," I said. "But no thanks."

Mabel snapped out of her trance and perked up. "Cookies?"

"Yep." I agreed. "All yours, sis."

Mabel grinned and ran inside, dragging her girlfriend inside. Tad jumped out of the way before he got knocked over. He looked at me nervously. His usually neatly combed hair was unkempt, strands standing up like the furs of a bristling cat. Underneath his twitching and weary looking eyes were eyebags. He rubbed his hands together furiously and twitching. He looked completely paranoid, even more than me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, very concerned.

"Y-yeah." He spluttered. I-I just didn't get much s-sleep last n-n-night. O-oh, B-Bill is ups-stairs. His r-room is second d-door to the right. Y-you won't m-miss it."

"Okay," I said uncertainly. Something was definitely wrong and was scaring the poor guy. "Thanks."

Tad nodded furiously and scurried away like a frightened rat. Was it Bill that was causing this? He said that the demon could take over his body at completely random times. Gathering all my courage, I headed up the stairs.

 

I knocked gently on Bill's bedroom door. The door swung open by itself and I helped myself inside the room. "Bill?"

Bill was sitting on his bed, hugging his knees close to his body while rocking back and forth. His head was buried between his arms and legs. He wore a black sleeveless top that was stained with blood; several old and dry, others fresh and liquidy. Same went for his limbs and cargo pants. Whether it was his or something (or someone) else's blood, I couldn't tell.

I tried calling his attention again. "Bill?"

His head slowly raised up. I was slightly afraid of what I would see. Would he have gleaming red eyes? Would he have sharp white fangs bared? Would he have this inhumanely wide grin? Would he go all 'DIE FILTHY MORTAL SCUM!!!' or something like that?

Instead I saw his blue eyes. Those icy blue eyes that used to burn itself into my soul. Now it seemed that the fire had gone out. Those eyes seemed to have lost that brightness, that twinkle, that spark. I saw no sign of anger, or fear, or sorrow, or hatred; just absolute blankness. It was an empty void of nothingness. It was as if his eyes were saying, 'I can't do this anymore, I give up.'

He stood up slowly. Very, very slowly. He began walking just as slowly towards me. I tensed. Was he playing around with me? Was he going show me his demon eyes then lunge at me? Instead, he grabbed a knife from a drawer beside the doorway where I was standing.

Then he spoke. "Funny, isn't it?"

I looked around. There wasn't anyone else in the room and he wasn't looking at me. Who was he talking to? His knife? Himself?

Bill continued his monologue, pacing around the room. "Life is so ironic. We waste so much time for a future that might not even exist. Betting talent, soul, individuality; so uncertain." He sighed. "Scum will be scum, blood will be blood, colors will be colors, and people will be people, however, life will be death; and death will come to be."

"Bill?" I could sense something very, very wrong. "What are you—?

Bill ignored me. "Life is like a payphone. The timespan of the call, like our lives, is limited. Sometimes, we get to end our conversation on time. Sometimes, we don't. Midway through our sentence, the phone goes dead. Without even a 'Goodbye!', or an 'I love you!'. So why not just end it there? You have your free will. You could do anything you please, you could just—"

"Bill!" I whirled him around to face me. I could stand hearing him say all of that. "I know what you're going through and I—"

Bill laughed humorlessly. "Really, Pine Tree? You know what I'm going through? I've been kicked out by my parents when I was only ten! I've been jumping from city to city, family member to family member who wanted nothing to do with me! Because of that, I never had anyone I could truly call a friend."

"But Tad cares." I said. "He wouldn't have kept you if he didn't care about you!"

Bill laughed again. "Tad? You think he loves me? He's afraid of me, Dipper! He quakes in his shiny polished shoes when I come home from school. The only reason he hasn't kicked me out is for the money the government pays to him to take care of me. You call that love, Pines? And not only am I a demon, oh no, I have to be a fucking faggot! Everyone called me names and beat me up when they found out. People say life is going to get better, everything is going to be alright. What about me? My life been getting worse and worse!"

Anger boiled in the pit of my stomach. "So am I part of that horrible and miserable life you live? Am I just another piece of shit you wish you never had in your life? You said you love me Bill! Was that just a lie?!"

"No," he muttered, "I really do love you, Pine Tree."

"Then stop being a spoiled bastard!" I shouted at him. "You go on moaning how your life is miserable is and how no one cares! Well sorry buddy! There are plenty of people who care about you! Mabel cares! Pacifica cares! Candy cares! Grenda cares! I care! How do you think we would feel if you just do it? "

Bill ripped away from me. "You don't care! You wouldn't give a flying fuck about me! You think I'm selfish? Do you know I'll be stripping myself of the one thing I want; freedom! I just want to be free! If you really do care, if you really are my friend, you would let do away with it and mourn for me!"

"It isn't like that!" I was trying to bring down my tears but I could feel them welling up in my eyes. "I tried last year and when I was near the point of no return, I saw a picture of Mabel and I. If I just sealed the deal, she'd never forgive herself and shoulder the blame when it's my own! Bill, you've been going around the country, from state to state. You should know that no matter where you go, you take yourself with you. You won't be happier doing this to yourself."

Bill grit his teeth in frustration, raising the glinting knife. I backed up, expecting him to throw the thing right at me. Instead, he threw the blade away to the side and began sinking down onto his knees, bawling like a child lost at the mall. 

If you've ever been lost at the mall before, you know how it feels. You feel so small in the sea of adults roaming around. You have plenty of free space but you feel locked up in a cage of terror and fear. You lost the warmth and comfort of your parents and don't know what to do or who to trust. However, there is that kind adult you bump into who seems willing to help. All you need to do is trust that person to help you find your way to the safe comfort of your parents. That was how Bill must have felt; alone, afraid, and confused. What Bill need was the person (or people) kind enough to help him.

I wrapped my arms around Bill, smoothing the blonde locks onto his scalp as he trembled and sniffled in my embrace. We stayed that way for awhile until I let go. He seemed a little better now that he let all the anger and frustration out of his system. I grabbed the black box I had dropped to the side and opened it. The box contained two necklaces. Both had string for the lace and a pendant made from colored leather. One with a yellow triangle pendant and one with a small blue triangle stacked on a bigger blue triangle; a pine tree.

I showed the necklaces to Bill. "Bill, you remember our chat a couple days ago?" Bill nodded slowly, still sniffling and looking curiously at the necklaces. "Well, remember how you said that you wanted to be a Dorito? Well, this," I held up the necklace with the triangle pendant, "Represents you. The pine tree represents me. When I stack the latter on top of the former, it creates a bigger pine tree; a bigger me. I feel so much stronger when I'm with you. I feel like myself. What I'm trying to say is—"

"Dipper," Bill interrupted, "I really do love you and I really want you to feel the same waybut please don't force yourself."

"I'm not—"

"Don't lie to me." Bill snapped. "It will just make it even harder for me. After all, what is the use of words without meaning?"

"Bill—"

"Dipper, don't make me hope for something I can't have! You'll just be hurting me! I don't want to ruin a perfectly good—mmff!"

I silenced him with a kiss on the lips. It was soft, gentle, and sweet. It felt like absolute heaven. I pulled away to see an absolutely shocked Bill who seemed to lose all matter of speech.

"Hum-he-ah-hah-e-huh?" Bill spluttered out.

I chuckled. "Does that mean you want another kiss?"

"Herm-hi-uh-huh." Bill nodded dazedly.

I grinned and kissed him again. I pressed my lips harder on to his and he responded back by pressing his into mine just as hard. Our bodies moved closer to feel each other's warmth. I wanted to collapse into him, to be one with him, to finally feel like a whole. We pulled back gasping for breath, we both had a dopey grin plastered on our faces.

He rested his forehead against mine. "I love you."

"I know."

Bill pushed me away playfully. "Don't go all Han Solo with me!"

I snorted. "Is it bad that I'm now imagining you with Princess Leia's buns?"

"Oh my god!" Bill slapped my arm. "Why am I Princess Leia?"

"Why not?" I asked. "I'm certainly not going to be her!"

"Oh quit obsessing over gender roles!"

"Then what's your problem with Princess Leia?"

Bill's face gravitated towards mine, until our noses touched and his intense blue eyes were close to mine. "Because if you're my Han Solo, let me be your Bobba Fett. I would cross the entire sky, the entire galaxy, just for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, my angsty teenage hormones are at it again. It's a nice long chapter (well, longer than most) for you so you can survive the couple days I won't update.


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